“…a wonderful way for adult sons and daughters to hopefully improve relationships with their Dad, learn something new or just have intriguing conversations with their fathers…” Author Christine Jackson

What do you really know about your Dad?

Do you know much about his childhood? The difficulties he has faced? The fun things he did? The things he wished he had done?

Your dad is so much more than the man who raised you. He grew up in a time very different from yours—the beliefs, habits, and expectations were very different, as were the way things were done. Your dad has seen a lot in his life, getting to hear his journey will help you to understand him in a whole new light.

Start the conversation with your dad, especially if he is elderly. This book is a guide which provides questions to ask, as well as how and when to ask them. Use this as a way to grow, mend and/or heal the relationship between you and your dad; preserve this man’s journey through life and in particular his role as Dad. His story is his legacy to you.

“…this book, Do You Know Your Dad’s Story? becomes more valuable as the decades slip past, providing a snapshot in time not only of the individuals but also of the era in which they lived…”p.m.terrell, international award-winning, author

Discovering your dad’s journey is important.

Our relationship with our parents can be complicated, can’t it? One thing is for sure though, too often as their children we don’t really stop and take time to get to know them—who they are, what they liked to do as a child, what type of era they grew up in… We know them as Mom and Dad and how they are or aren’t involved in our lives and what they have or haven’t taught us.

In this article, I talk about why you need to Discover Your Mom’s Story. Many of the same reasons apply as to why you need to discover your Dad’s Story but we do have a bit of a different relationship with our dad’s than we do our mom’s don’t we? And if your mom and dad are elderly, their roles were very different than they are today. There can be a big difference in how much either will share about their lives, their journey.

Things may have been very different for your dad

If your dad was born before the 70’s, life and expectations were very different. There were a whole different set of rules, expectations, beliefs, habits, access to things… It was a very different time. Often it was the man who worked and ensured there was money to buy the things needed to look after a family—food, clothing, shelter. Men were often the decision-makers and rule makers in the family. It’s just the way it was.

I think many of the older dads didn’t really get an opportunity to spend a lot of quality time with the family. Sometimes there can be a rift between children and fathers because dads weren’t often around too much during the growing up years. If dads were involved it was usually teaching a skill, fixing something and sometimes it was about ensuring the family had family time.

My goal is to help you grow, mend or heal your relationship with your dad and to preserve his life journey.

Getting to know your dad will not only be a gift to him but to you as well. It will help you to understand who this man really is and the journey he has been on. It can also help you to understand him in a new light and to understand your own life, in a new way.

When we reach old age, we should be happy, healthy, loving life,

know we made a positive difference, know we matter and to feel connected. If possible let’s do that for our dads. I know not all relationships can be healed so if you can’t heal your relationship with your father, for whatever reason, then heal it from your perspective. Our relationships with our dads affect our lives in ways we can’t often measure, so the more we are at peace with that connection, the healthier and happier we all will be.

Glenna is the author of heart-touching and humorous nonfiction (Glenna Mageau) and suspense/thrillers (Maggie Thom). Glenna is also the founder of The Women Writes Movement - Helping women find their voice through writing. She is also on a mission to ensure that when we reach old age, we should feel love, connected and know that our lives mattered.

Writing Do You Know Your Dad’s Story? The Unasked Questions was interesting to do. I had written and published Do You Know Your Mom’s Story? 365 Questions You Need to Ask Her, a year ago. The response has been amazing and I have heard such incredible stories. So it only made sense that I write a book to make sure that Dad’s Story wasn’t lost. It really was my intention all along but I did get a lot of requests for the book.

I am thrilled to say that the book is written and will be available soon for Pre-Order.

For now I wanted to share the cover with you. I am thrilled with this cover, which was created and designed by Druscilla Morgan. She is incredibly talented and I think did a great job of grabbing the concept and purpose of the book.

“…a wonderful way for adult sons and daughters to hopefully improve relationships with their Dad, learn something new or just have intriguing conversations with their fathers…” Author Christine Jackson

What do you really know about your Dad?

Do you know much about his childhood? The difficulties he has faced? The fun things he did? The things he wished he had done?

Your dad is so much more than the man who raised you. He grew up in a time very different from yours—the beliefs, habits, and expectations were very different, as were the way things were done. Your dad has seen a lot in his life, getting to hear his journey will help you to understand him in a whole new light.

Start the conversation with your dad, especially if he is elderly. This book is a guide which provides questions to ask, as well as how and when to ask them. Use this as a way to grow, mend and/or heal the relationship between you and your dad; preserve this man’s journey through life and in particular his role as Dad. His story is his legacy to you.

“…this book, Do You Know Your Dad’s Story? becomes more valuable as the decades slip past, providing a snapshot in time not only of the individuals but also of the era in which they lived…”p.m.terrell, international award-winning, author

To learn more about Do You Know Your Dad’s Story? The Unasked Questions

I had interviewed many women who were in their 80’s, 90’s and 100’s who back in their day had stepped outside the norm – they worked or got educated. That had to have taken a lot of guts. I learned a lot about their journey. The biggest surprise though? Was that they hadn’t shared their journey or their story with their children. That broke my heart. So much lost.

Women are amazing but especially Moms. Sadly though, many women, especially moms and especially the older moms don’t see their lives as all that important and they carry around guilt and shame and embarrassment and that which they were taught – not to brag. The times were such that women were taught to work, to do for others and to not really talk about it. And emotions weren’t seen as all that useful.

It is so important to get Moms to share their story – it is such a gift, such a legacy.

Bridge the gap, get to know your mom’s story.

To get your story down on paper, there are several ways to approach it. First thing, stop thinking, just write.

get your information down on paper, then you can fix it

do an interview, talk to someone and share your story

record your information

speak to type software

The key is to get it down on paper, then you have something to play with, something to build on.

Mom, She Taught You the Rules

As she knew them.

Mom, she did what she knew with what she had.

Our moms are pretty amazing, they didn’t always get it right but they did try to teach us and make us into good human beings.

If you were born in the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s then you were born in a time of unrest and change. There was a demand by many that oppression stop and that there be a new way of life. The old way of being was starting to change… slowly

But… our moms grew up in a different time. They grew up when the expectation for a woman was to look after everyone, get married, have kids and… look after everyone. That was it. So our moms tried to teach us what they knew—manners and rules. After all that seemed to be the measure of whether you were a good person or not. So our moms taught us—please, thank you, yes, no, how to talk, when to talk, how to show up in public, how to dress depending on what we were doing (Sunday Best vs play clothes), how to eat properly, how to sit, how to show respect for others, what was considered acceptable and what wasn’t, what words to use and not use… the list goes on.

Image was everything.

People wanted something different

She was trying to do this in a time of change, when people wanted something different. Your mom might have even been one of the ones pushing for that change—peace and love, not war. Or she might have just gone about her work. Either way, she still had the old ways ingrained in her as did society. So it was a real struggle to figure out what was right and what wasn’t.

Unfortunately for kids, all those lessons, rules, and manners that we were taught, actually taught us something else—our self worth. Too often as kids, what we saw was that we weren’t measuring up, we weren’t good enough. We had trouble getting all the rules right and when we were supposed to use all those manners. We just kept getting reminded of what we were supposed to do and how we were supposed to show up… meaning we were lacking.

Our moms taught us what they knew and what they believed to be right.

So what does this mean for you? It means that it is time to look at your relationship with your mom, differently. She didn’t teach you those things to make you feel less than, her intention was to show you how to let others know you were a good person. You have to remember that she grew up in a time when the measure of her self worth was in how good her kids showed up in the world. It had nothing to do with your self worth, it had to do with her teaching what she thought would help to make you a good person.

What she didn’t know and not many of that time did was that kids are already good. Kids just needed time to be kids, without rules and regulations. Kids just needed time and attention and love. Unfortunately, it was also a time when moms didn’t know how to say ‘I love you’. It just wasn’t said, really by anyone. So your mom may not have said it but she did try to show it. One of the ways she tried to show it was by teaching you the rules and manners that were so important in the day. Or she showed it by all the things she did—the meals she made, the clothes she made you…

She did what she knew with what she had. Sometimes she got it right and sometimes she didn’t. The truth is that one of the most important things you can do for you mom, is to take time to get to know her, understand her journey. It can make all the difference to you.

Glenna is the author of heart-touching and humorous nonfiction (Glenna Mageau) and suspense/thrillers (Maggie Thom). Glenna is also the founder of The Women Writes Movement - Helping women find their voice through writing. She is also on a mission to ensure that when we reach old age, we should feel love, connected and know that our lives mattered.

“…it reaches far beyond dates of birth, marriage and death and into the heart and soul of a woman and her family…” Multi-Award-Winning Author P.M. Terrell

What do you really know about your Mom?

Do you know what her hopes, dreams and desires were? Did she live them?

Your mom is so much more than the woman who raised you. She grew up in a time very different from yours—there were different beliefs, habits, and ways of doing things. Your mom has seen a lot in her life, getting to hear her journey will help you to understand her in a whole new light. Now is the time get to know her and to document her life. The only way to find out about your mom’s story is to ask… because one day she won’t be there anymore.

When we reach old age we should know our lives mattered, that we mattered, that we are loved, happy and feel connected.

This book offers a way to start conversations between you and your mom—in particular, elderly mothers. It is a guide which provides questions to ask, as well as how and when to ask them. Use this as a way to grow, heal and/or mend the relationship between mom and child; preserve this woman’s journey through life and in particular her role as Mom. Her story is her legacy to you.

Why understanding your mom’s journey is important?

Your relationship with your mom might be affecting your life in more ways than you realize.

How well do you know your mom’s story—why she made some decisions she did, what she really wanted in life, what she regrets…

Understanding your mom will give you a whole new perspective on her and on your own life.

Help your mom understand the importance of her life.

Your mother is an amazing woman, she may not know that, though. All women are amazing, but Moms really do hold a special place. The truth is being a Mom is a journey and not always an easy one. There is so much to do and really there is no ‘rule book’ on how you are to raise this little one that is now so dependent on you. Your mom might have gotten most of it right, she may have only gotten some of it right or she may have really struggled as a mom but do you know why she made the decisions she did… why she had the struggles she did… what made her happy… what she truly believed about herself.

My goal is to help you grow, mend or heal your relationship with your mom.

Getting to know your mom will not only be a gift to her but to you as well. It will help you to understand who this woman really is and it will help you to understand who you are and the decisions you have made in your life.

When we reach old age, we should be happy, healthy, loving life,

know we made a positive difference, know we matter and to feel connected. If possible let’s do that for our moms. I know not all relationships can be healed so if you can’t heal your relationship with your mother, for whatever reason, then heal it from your perspective. Our relationships with our moms affect our lives in ways we can’t often measure, so the more we are at peace with that connection, the healthier and happier we all will be.

Glenna is the author of heart-touching and humorous nonfiction (Glenna Mageau) and suspense/thrillers (Maggie Thom). Glenna is also the founder of The Women Writes Movement - Helping women find their voice through writing. She is also on a mission to ensure that when we reach old age, we should feel love, connected and know that our lives mattered.